TEAM NEWS
Liverpool‘s Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane picked up injuries on international duty and will be assessed. James Milner and Naby Keita are definitely ruled out because of hamstring problems.
Huddersfield pair Philip Billing and Isaac Mbenza should be available after ankle and knee injuries respectively. The Terriers remain without injured trio Tommy Smith, Terrence Kongolo and Danny Williams.
MOTD COMMENTATOR’S NOTES
Jonathan Pearce: In Rijeka’s eerie silence, Jordan Henderson was England’s loudest player. Liverpool will need that leadership as they go into three must-win games counting the cost of an abrasive month.
Unbeaten in the league in that time against Spurs, Chelsea and most recently Manchester City is proof of more durability. Huddersfield and Cardiff should be beaten. But they dropped nine points against bottom-three clubs last season.
Huddersfield haven’t won in 12 league games, albeit only Manchester City have trounced them. If Liverpool are at it from the start, they’ll win comfortably. But David Wagner will have plans to create a massive shock against his old pal Jurgen Klopp.
VIEW FROM THE DUGOUT
Huddersfield Town head coach David Wagner: “We have to focus on ourselves, absolutely. The good thing is I know more of what is in the opposition manager’s head than I usually know; this is the only good thing.
“But how we prepare, how we analyse and our meetings will be like we do with all our opponents, with maybe a little bit more knowledge of what is going on in the opposition manager’s head, nothing more.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp: “I’m not worried by Dave’s situation at Huddersfield but I’m not worried about us going to Huddersfield.
“It will not be an easy game, it will be the opposite. If we do our best, and do what we are good in, it will be difficult for Huddersfield. That is clear.”
LAWRO’S PREDICTION
Huddersfield put in a really good performance in their draw at Burnley in their last game, and could well have taken all three points.
But I don’t see them causing Liverpool too many problems, even at home, and the Reds will be confident of creating enough chances of their own to win.
Prediction: 0-2
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- Huddersfield are without a win in the past 12 meetings in all competitions, drawing three and losing nine.
- They have failed to score in the last seven of those fixtures since a 1-1 draw at Anfield in April 1962.
- The Terriers managed just one shot on target in the two Premier League meetings last season.
- Liverpool need two goals to become the first club to score 100 top-flight goals against the Terriers.
Huddersfield Town
- Huddersfield have not won in 12 Premier League games (D5, L7) – their longest winless league streak since 2000. They are also enduring their longest run without victory from the beginning of a top-flight season.
- The Terriers could equal the top-flight record of five consecutive home fixtures from the beginning of a season without scoring.
- They have failed to score in six successive Premier League home matches since beating Watford 1-0 in April 2018. Only Manchester City, with an eight-match streak in 2007, have fared worse in the top flight.
- Their tally of 20 shots on target this season is a Premier League-low.
- David Wagner is one short of 50 competitive wins as Huddersfield head coach.
Liverpool
- Liverpool are without a win in their last four matches in all competitions, having begun the season with seven consecutive victories.
- They have failed to win any of their last six games against teams in the relegation zone, drawing two and losing four.
- Only Manchester City (16) have faced fewer shots on target in the Premier League this season than Liverpool’s 21.
- They are one win away from becoming the fourth Premier League team to record 200 Premier League away victories.
- Mohamed Salah has failed to score in his last seven away games for Liverpool in all competitions.
Source: BBC News
